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What We CHOOSE To See..

Perspective. It is something we all forget is our choice. Yet when we are forced to change our perspective, we are granted the ability to change our situation just by changing our outlook. It’s a super power we all hold the key to. We just have to make the choice to use it to our advantage.

The “rule” of perspective has been one of the greatest life lessons that being Amelia’s Mom has taught me. Amelia taught me that when we stop looking for the bad, we find the good.

As August approaches Amelia gets closer and closer to the age of 2. With her birthday approaching I can’t help but think of the day she was born. The day I sobbed because I thought God was punishing me. When they placed Amelia in my arms I knew right away that she had Down Syndrome. What did I do to deserve this I thought. My poor family. My poor kids. What will people think? How will my life change for the worse? Where is the baby we planned on? These were the first thoughts that I had of my daughter.

It is easy to have a pity party for ourselves when things don’t work out exactly how we thought they should. Society is drowning us with this perfect “mold” we are all supposed to fit into. It didn’t take long before I decided to use the blessing of perspective. When we don’t like where we are, all we have to do is change our thinking and the possibilities become endless. So I did just that. I took Amelia in my arms and looked at her from head to toe with a new set of eyes. You know what I saw? Perfection. She had the full head of hair I dreamed of, the bright blue eyes her daddy wished for, the eatable chubby cheeks, healthy rolls covered her body, her new born smell made my heart skip a beat and she snuggled like it was her day job. I thought to myself what is so different about Down Syndrome?

Almost two years later I am able to answer that question. While people with Down Syndrome are not so different from you and me, the lives we lead as the people who know and love Amelia are very different. We have been given the gift of not taking a single thing for granted. Every milestone is a celebration that never goes unnoticed. Our eyes see people as people. Our minds know how to see the bigger picture. We practice acceptance daily, not only of other people but of ourselves. We know different is more than ok, it is wonderful.

When we changed our perspective from the burden of Down Syndrome to the blessing of Down Syndrome our possibilities became endless. Her possibilities became endless. Today I thank God for the blessing of Amelia. She loves with no boundaries and brings out the good in people every day. I get to watch her change people minds as soon as they meet her. I get to watch her change the world one person at a time. She is changing the way people perceive Down Syndrome with that full body smile of hers.Today we see the world through Amelia’s perfectly almond shaped eyes and it has never looked so beautiful.

Hello I’m Megan Fortman! Just your typical wife and Mom driving a big ol’ van full of crazy cute kids, trying to wear real pants as little as possible and drink as much coffee as humanly possible. I have spent majority of my life on one road in Tecumseh and am a Tecumseh high school graduate. There is no where I would rather raise my family than here in this perfectly small town. I am constantly on a mission to share our very normal lives that happens to be enhanced with an extra chromosome. I can’t think of a better place to break the stigmas on Down Syndrome with one Amelia smile at a time.

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AUTHORS

Lenawee Great Start Bloggers live and/or work in Lenawee county and enjoy sharing their parenting journey with you. The opinions expressed in these blogs are those of each individual author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Lenawee Great Start or its staff. Warning: laughter, tears, eye-rolling and other emotional responses may occur when reading these blogs. Thanks for stopping by!